Superheater.



PATENTED SEPT. 25, 1906.

P. J. COLE.

SUPERHEATER.

APPLICA TION FILED APB.30,1908

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATBNTED SEPT. 25, 1906.

IP. J. COLE.

SUPERHETER. I APPLICATION FILED APR.30,1906.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WBTNESSES MM, ...M

PATENTBD SEPT. 25, 1906.

P. J.00LE. SUPBRHEATBR- APPLIUATION FILED APE.30.1906.

e SHEETS-SHEET s.

.SN WQN,

WITNESSES PATENTED SEPT. 25, 1906.

P. J. COLE. SUPERHBATER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. so. 1906.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 44 No. 831.644. PATENTED SEPTfZ, 1906.

F. J. COLE.

SUPERHEATER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30.1906.

G SHEETS-SHEET 5.

l lul Il l @mlm mum www FIG. 7.

No. 831,644. PATENTBD SEPT.`Z5, 1906. F. J. GGLB.

SUPBRHEATBR. APPLIUATION FILED APR.so.19o6.

s SHEETS-SHEET a,

WITH ESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS J. COLE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSICNOR TO AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW Yoin SUPERHEATER.

Specification of Letters ratent.

Patented Sept. 25, 1906.

, and Carl J. Mellin under date of February 14, 1905; and its Objectis to provide'in a superheating appliance means whereby the steam after having been superheated shall be eifectually protected from the cooling action of the saturated steam in the passage of the latter from the boiler to and through the superheating appliances.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanyin drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical `longitudina section through the forward portion of a locomotive-boiler, illustrating an application of my invention; Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section through the smoke-box, the right-hand half being taken on tbe line a a of Fig. 1 and the left-hand half on the line b b of the same figure; Fig. 3, .i plan view,'partly in section, of the T-heads Fig. 4, a horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, through one of the headers and a portion of a superheating fire-tube and through the superheater-pipes located in said tube; Fig. 5, a vertical longitudinalsection through the forward portion of a locomotive-boiler, illustrating a structural modification of my invention; Fig. 6, a vertical transverse section through the smoke-box, the T-head being shown partly in elevation and partly in section on the lines c c and d d, respectively, of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a View of the T-head, partly in plan and partly in section, on the lines e e andff, respectively, of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8, a front view, partly in section, of the T-head.

My invention is herein, as in Letters Patent No. 782,490 aforesaid, set forth as ap-4 plied in connection with a locomotive-boiler 4, which is of the ordinary construction and is provided at its forward end with a smokebox-1n. -A pluralit of fire-tubes 4, ordinarily of coinparativefj;T small diameter, extend from the tire-box at the rear end ofthe boiler,

-which is not shown, to the front flue-,sheet- 41, and the products of combustion pass through said tubes and through a number 'of tubes 67 of larger diameter, which are located in the upper and middle portion of the space within the boiler and whichwill be herein descriptively termed superheatingtubes, to the smoke-box 4a, from which they are discharged into the atmosphere.

through. a stack in the ordinary manner. Steam is supplied from the boiler to the cylinders through a main steam-pipe or dry pipe 61, passing through the front flue-sheet 4d and connected in front thereof to a transverse T-head 62, from which it is conducted through superheater-pipes 69, which, with their connections, will be presently described, and after being superheated in said pipes passes to the cylinders through branch steam-pipes 63, located on opposite sides of the smoke-box.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, in the practice of my invention I locate in each of the superheating-tubes 67 one ory more pairs (preferably, as shown, two pairs) of superheater-pipes 69, said pipes extending longitudinally in the superheating tubes from a vertical plane a short distance-say thirty inches or thereabout--forward of the fire-box fine-sheet to vertical planes in the smoke-box forward of the front flue-sheet. The superhcater-pipes of each pair`are connected at their rear ends by return-bends or other suitable fittings and are held up in nor- I mal position in the superheating-tubes by any suitable and preferred supports. The superheater-pipes are open at their forward ends, at which they areconnected, as hereinafter described, with the main-supply steampipe 61 and the branch-or delivery steampipes 63, so as to constitutecontinuous avenues or channels throughout the length of which the steam which is to be superheated traverses from the supply steam-pipe to the branch or delivery steam-pipes. To this end the several pairs of superheater-pipes 69, which are located in each vertical row of suerheating-tubes 67, fare connected at their fiorward ends to a vertical casing or header 70, which is located a short distance forward ofthe front flue-sheet 4d and is in the form of two independent chambers or compartments,

IOO

tion of saturated steamV and the other, 7 0,

connected at their adjoining ends by a narrow web'70i. They may, howeverfif desired, be made of separate' castings, 'having projections on their adjoining ends, 'which are planed and faced off on al machine and abut, so as to insure their registration and the proper relative .location of the front and rear compartment castings.

By reference to Fig. i it will'be seen that except 'as yto the comparatively slight area of the portions of the walls of the header-compartments 70e 70f, between which the connecting-web 70i or the equivalent abutting projections, as the case may be, is or are in -terposed, said compartments are entirely out ,of contact one with the other, and therefore no appreciable Itransfer of heat can be eected between them. It will also be seen that .the four side walls and the bottom wall of each of the compartments are exposed throughout their entire extent to the'heat of the smoke-box gases. The forward end of one of the superheater-pipes 69 of each pair is expanded into the lrear wall of the rear compartment e of the header of the vertical row of superheating-tubes in which the pair is *lo-- cated, and the forward end of the other pipe of each pair is similarly connected to the rear wall of the forward compartment 7()f of the header. The r'ear Walls of the header-compartments are progressively stepped or staggered forwardly from top to bottom, so as to gradually decrease the transverse section of the compartments from their upper to their lower ends in order to provide proper facilities for the discharge ofthe products of combustion from the boiler-tubes. Openings, which' are closed by removable plugs 7 0, are formed in the front walls of the header-cornpartments, said openings providing for the insertion, examination, cleansing, and re- In the event of leakage at the joints the plugs can'be depairs of the superheater-pipes.

tachedand the pipes expanded, as may be required.

Ports 62b are formed in the bottom wall of.

the T-head 62, each of said ports communieating with a corresponding port in the top of the rear compartment 70e of one of the headers 70. Ball-joints 62e are preferably interposed between the T-head andthe head- `ers at the several ports in order to prevent leakage thereat while permitting a limited degree of relative movement. A supplementary or delivery compartment T-head 62f extends across the smoke-box in front of the main or supply T-head 62, fromvvhich its walls arc separated throughout, except as to narrowprojections -at its lbottom, through which it abuts against the main T-head. Ports 62c are formed in the bottom wall of the delivery-compartment T-head 62f, each of said ports communicating with a corresponding port in the top of the forward compartment 70 of-one of. the headers 70, and ball-joints 62e are preferably interposed at the several ports. The headers are secured detachably to the main and' to the' delivery compartment- T-heads 62 62f by bolts 71, and thereby serve to attach the latterto the formerand support it in properrelation thereto. 'The branch 4steam-pipes 63, leading to the cylinders, are connected to nozzles at the ends of the delivery-compartment T-head'62f.

In' operation saturated-steam vfrom the boiler passes through the dry pipe 61 into the T-head 62 and thence into the rear or saturated-steam compartments 7 Oe of the several headers, from which 'it passes, first rear-4 wardly and then forwardly, through the connected superheater-pipes 69 and thence into the forward or superheated-steam compartments 7 Ofvof the headers, being Vin its traverse through the superheater-pipes thoroughly superheated by the'hot products of combustion which pass through the inclosing superheating-tubes. The superheated steam passes from the compartments '/'Of of the headers into the delivery-compartment T-head 62f `and thence through the branch steam-pipes 634 to the engine cylinders for utilization therein.

By reason of the substantially complete separation of the walls of the main or receiving -T-head from those of the delivery-compartment T-head and of,v the walls of the saturated-steam compartments of the headers from those of t he superheated-steam compartments loss of heat which would result from its transfer through said walls from the superheated to the saturated'steam is effectually prevented. .The form and location of the headers are also such as to expose a large area of effective heating-surface tothe action ofthe hot products of combustion passing through the smoke-box.

Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, illustrate an application of my invention which accords in all essential particulars with that above described'and differs therefrom only as to structural detail.- In this, as in the former case, the headers 70 and the T-head each comprise saturated and superheated steam compartments or chambers, the walls of which are subper portions of the rearwalls of' the headers The main liverycompartment T-head 62".

compartment 7()e of one of the headers.

insteadof in the top walls thereof in order to communicate with ports in the front wall of the integral T-head casting 62, to which the headers are detachably connected by horizontal bolts 7l. I

The delivery-compartment T-head 62f is located below the main T-head 62, from which its walls are entirely separated, except as to the thickness of `narrow connecting webs 62g, by which the main and delivery compartment T-heads are united, so that the walls of both are exposed throughout substantially their entire extent to the heating action ofthe products of combustion in the smoke-box and no appreciable transfer of heat can take place between the two compartments. The branch steam-pipes 63 are connected to nozzles on the ends of the de- The upper portion or main body of the T-head 62 is provided with ports 62b in its front wall, each of said portscommunicating with a corresponding port in the rear wall of the forward compartment 70f of one of the headers, and the delivery-compartment 62*y of the header isprovided with ports 62c in its front wall, each of said ports communicating with a corresponding port in the rear wall of the rear It will be seen that under this construction the front compartments of the headers receive the saturated steam from the dry pipe and the rear compartments thereof deliver the superheated steam to the branch steampipes'and the engine-cylinders, their respective functions being thus reversed relatively to those of the compartmentsof the headers first described. The connection of the superheater-pi es to the header-compartments and their re ation to the superheating-tubes are, however, the same in both cases, and the steam traverses in the same manner through the several members of the su erheating appliance in both cases and wit 1 the same results.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art of locomotive-engine construction that lvarious structural 'modifications of my invention` may be made without departure from the spirit and operative principle thereof as hereinbefore exemplified. Thus, for example, the rear compartments of the headers may be connected tothe bottoms of the T-heads, as in'Figs. 1 and 2,`and the front compartments to the fronts cf the T-heads, as in Figs. 5 and 6, the joints o f each header being consequently at right angles one to the other insteadof in the'same plane, as in the instances above described. These joints may also he made with ground-joint rings instead of coper. p Other variations of structural detail which will be within my invention will readily occur to the constructor.

perheater pipes extendin I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl 1. rlhe combination, with a tubular steamboiler, of a superheating-tube, a pair of superheater-pipes' extending longitudinally therein and connected at their rear ends, a vertical casing or header comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment having substantially separated walls, the forward ends of the superheater-pipes communicating with said compartments, a steam-supply connection opening into the receiving-compartment, and a steam-delivery connection leading out of the delivery-compartment.

2. The combination, with a tubular steamboiler, of a superheating-tube, a pair of sulongitudinally therein and connected at t eir rear ends, a

vertical casing or header comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment having Substantially separated walls, the forward ends of the superheater-pipes communicating with said compartments, a main T-head communicating with the receiving-compartment of the header, and a delivery-com artment T-head communicating with the elivery compartment of the header.

3. The combination, with a tubular steamboiler, of a superheating-tube, a pair of suvperheater pipes extending longitudinally therein and connected at their rear ends, a vertical casingor header comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment having substantially separated walls, the forward ends ofthe superheater-pipes communicating with said compartments, a main T-head ommunicating with the receiving-compartment of the header, and a delivery-compartment T-head having its wall which is adj acent to the main T-head separated therefrom by an open space, and communicating with the delivery-compartment of the header.

4. The combination, with a tubular steamboiler, of a vertical row of superheatinff-tubes, pairs of superheater-pipes extending longitudinally therein, fittings connecting the ends of the pipes of each pair nearer the fire-box, a main steam-suppl pipe, a steam-delivery pipe, and a vertica casing or header comprising a compartment which communicates with the steam-supply pipe and with the receiving ends of the steam-channels formed by the vertical row of pairs of superh'eater-pipes,

and a compartment having its Walls substantially separated from those of the compartment first stated and communicating with the delivery ends of said channels and with the steam-delivery pipe.

5. The combination, with a tubular steamboiler, of a vertic al row of superheating-tubes, pairs of superheater-pipes extending longitudinally therein, iittings connecting the ends of the pipes ofeach pair nearer the fire-box,

a main st cam-supply pipe, a steam-delivery IOC . communicating with the steam-supply pipe and with one ofthe header-comp artments, and a delivery-compartment `head communicating with the other header-compartment and with the steam-delivery pipe.

6. A header for steam-boiler superheaters, comprisinga receiving and a delivery compartment, having their inclosing walls out of contact one with the other, and abutting Athrough metal projecting from their adjoining ends, each compartment having an end port for communication with a T-head compartment.

7. A header for steam-boiler superheaters, comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment, set one in advance of the other so as to prevent cont act of their adjacent in closing Walls, and abutting through metal projecting from their adjoining ends, each compartment having an end port for communication with a T-head compartment.

8. A header for steam-boiler superheaters, comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment, having their inclosing Walls'out of Contact one with the other, and their rear Walls progressively downwardly and forwardly stepped, said compartments abutting through metal projecting irom`=their adjoining ends.

9.l A header for steam-boiler superheaters, comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment, set one in advance of the other so as to prevent contact of their adjacent inclosing walls, and having their rear walls progressivel y downward ly an d forwardly stepped said` compartments abutting through metal projecting from their adjoining ends..

10. A header for steam-boiler superheat- 4 ers, comprising a receiving and a delivery compartment, set one in advance of the other `so as to prevent contact of their adjacent in.

closing Walls and having steam supply and delivery ports at their upper ends, said com- 5o partments abutting through metal projectingfrom their adjoining ends.

1]. In a steam-boiler superheater, the combination of'a superheating-tube, a pair of superheater-pipes extending longitudinally 5 5 therein and constituting a steam-channel, 'a T-head structure comprising a main sectioncompartment communicating With a steam# supply pipe, and a delivery-compartment section communicating with a steam-deliv- 6o ery pipe, and having its wall which is adj a-L cent to the main T-head section separated q therefrom by an open space, headers having separate saturate ,and superheated. steamA compartments and connections from -the op- 65 posite ends of the superheater-pipes steamchannel to the saturate and superheated steam compartments, respectively.

12. In a steam-boiler superheater, the

combination of a T-head structure compris-v 7o ing a main-section compartment communacating with a steam-supply pipe and a de livery-compartment section communicating with a steam-delivery pipe and having its Wall which is adjacent to the main T-head section 7, 5

separated therefrom by an open space, headers, each divided into two compartments which communicate, respectively, with the main and the delivery compartment sections of the T-head structure, and'superheater-A 8o pipes forming steam-channels, the opposite ends of which communicate with the compartments of the headers.

inrnnveis J'. COLE. 

